Razor head

ABSTRACT

A razor head having a cap portion mounted thereon and adapted to pivot upon one end of the razor head, the cap being held and released by a hook latch means disposed in the razor head. The exposure of the blade is varied by a rotatable adjusting spindle connected to a blade guard.

[4 1 Jan. 9, 1973 United States Patent [191 Stephenson et al.

[ RAZOR HEAD Inventors: Charles F. Stephenson, Rowayton;

Kenneth A. Van Dyck, Weston; James B. Wyatt, Stamford, all of Conn.

The

Klam ....30/74.l 2/1946 Hellmann.................................30/60 [73] Assignee: Gillette Company, Boston,

Mass.

Primary ExaminerRobert C. Riordon Assistant ExaminerGary L. Smith Attorney-Philip Colman et al.

22 Filed: July 19,1971

Appl, No.1 163,729

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to razor heads and is directed more particularly to a razor head having a cap portion arranged for pivotal movement upon one end of the razor head.

2. Description of the Prior Art Several razors well known in the art utilize a razor head having cap portions which are mounted for pivotal movement upon either side of the razor head. Generally, two cap portions are mounted on the razor head and open and close in a clam shell manner responsive to rotation of a nut member by an operator. Several turns of the nut are usually required in' order to move the cap portions from a fully closed position to a fully opened position, as to replace a razor blade, and several turns again required to fully close the cap portions upon the razor blade.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a razor head having cap portion means mounted thereon and adapted to be opened and closed by a single quick motion, as opposed to several turns of an opening and closing nut means.

With the above and other objects in view, as will hereinafter appear, a feature of the present invention is a provision of a razor head comprising a frame, a cap portion pivotally mounted upon one end of the frame, hook latch means disposed in the frame for releasably retaining the cap portion in a position overlying the frame, and actuator means attached to the frame and engageable with the hook latch means for disengaging the hook latch means from the cap portion.

The above and other features of the invention, including various novel details of construction and combinations of parts, will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will be understood that the particular device embodying the invention is shown by way of illustration only and not as a limitation of the invention. The principles and features of this invention may be employed in various and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which there is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention from which its novel features and advantages will be apparent.

FIG. I is an elevational side view, partly in section, showing one form of razor illustrative of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational end view, partly in section, of the razor head;

FIG. 3 is an elevational side view, partly in section;

FIG. 4 is an elevational end view, partly in section;

FIG. 5 is an elevational sectional side view, similar to FIG. 3, but showing an alternative embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an elevational sectional side view, similar to FIGS. 3 and 5, but showing an additional alternative embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an elevational sectional side view, similar to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, but showing still another alternative embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1-4, it will be seen that the illustrative invention comprises a frame 2 supporting a pivot pin 4 on which is mounted a cap portion 6. The cap portion 6 is provided with a catch piece 8 engageable with a hook latch assembly 10 disposed in a cavity 12 in the frame 2. When the cap portion 6 is in the closed position, it overlies the frame 2, as shown in FIG. 3 and 4, and the catch piece 8 is engaged with the hook latch assembly 10 to lock the catch piece in the closed position.

The book latch assembly 10 includes a hook member 14 having a pivot pin 16, the ends of which are mounted for free movement in opposed grooves 18. A spring means 20 is disposed in the cavity 12 and biases the hook pivot pin 16 downwardly, as viewed in the drawings. The hook member 14 includes a hook cam surface 22 which is engageable with the catch piece 8 and operates to cause the hook member 14 to pivot into locking engagement with the catch piece 8.

The frame member 2 includes an opening 24 which receives an actuator 26 having a bifurcated portion 28 which engages an actuating pin 30 fixed to the hook member 14, whereby movement of the actuator, as by an operator, causes movement of the hook member upon the pivot pin 16. The bifurcated portion 28 of the actuator 26 is slidingly disposed upon an inclined surface 32 of the cavity 12. The surface 32 is provided with a projection 34 which operates as a stop means for the actuator 26.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-4, there will now be described the operation of the device, starting with the cap portion in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. While the cap 6 is in the open position a new blade 36 may be placed on the frame 2 and the cap member 6 closed upon the blade, as by operator finger pressure. Such movement of the cap member 6 causes the lower surface of the catch member 8 to contact the hook cam surface 22 and rotate the hook member 14 upon the pivot pin 16 to cause the hook member to engage the catch piece and thereby retain the cap portion. As the free end of the catch piece causes the hook to rotate upon its pivot pin 16, which is located in the guide grooves 18 of the razor head, the actuating pin 30 in the base of the hook member causes the actuator 26 to slide downwardly and leftwardly, as viewed in the drawings, along the inclined surface 32, to extend outwardly through the opening 24 in the frame 2. As the hook member 14 rotates, its pivot pin 16 moves downwardly in the guide grooves 18, biased by the spring means 20. Such downward movement of the hook member 14 pulls the cap member 6 snugly closed under the force of the spring means.

When it is desired to open the razor head, the actuator 26 is pushed inwardly of the razor head, as by operator finger pressure, and operates to move the hook member 14 upwardly and to rotate the hook member so as to terminate the locking engagement of the hook member with the catch piece 8, and causing the hook pin surface 22 to contact the catch piece 8 and exercise an upwardly pushing force upon the catch piece, whereby to cause the catch piece to be rapidly ejected from the hook latch assembly. The projection 34 stops inwardly movement of the actuator 26.

With reference to FIG. 5, there will now be discussed a first alternative embodiment of the invention. The embodiment shown in FIG. is substantially the same as that above described with reference to FIGS. 1-4, except that the projection 34 has been removed and a detent 40 placed upon the inclined surface 32. The detent 40 has the effect of holding the push button more securely in the open hook position. The detent 40 also contributes further to the rapidity of the flip-open motion. When the actuator 26 is pushed inwardly, the actuator proceeds slidingly along the inclined surface 32 and engages the detent 40 which provides a resisting force to the sliding movement of the actuator. Additional pressure on the actuator by the operator overcomes the obstructing force of the detent 40. As the actuator slides over the detent 40, the resisting force of the detent rapidly decreases and the actuator slides rapidly to the inward most position. Such motion is transferred through the hook cam surface 22 to the catch piece 8, increasing the velocity of the hook cap opening motion.

In FIG. 6 there is shown a second alternative embodiment in which there is utilized a toggle link 50 pivotally mounted upon the actuator 26. One end 52 of the toggle link is anchored in the frame 2 and a second end 54 of the toggle link is pivotally attached to the actuating pin 30. A lost motion slot 56 is provided in the toggle link 50 to facilitate linear movement of the hook member 14 upwardly and downwardly. The toggle link embodiment provides essentially the same motions and effect as the previously described embodiments, but acts with less frictional resistance and therefore acts to decrease the push button force required at the end of the inward motion of the actuator, while still supplying a rapid flip motion to the cap member 6.

In FIGS. 7 and 8 there is shown substantially the same embodiment as above described, with reference to FIGS. 1-4, but in combination with an adjustment feature permitting adjustment of the blade exposure. In this embodiment the cavity 12 receives a ferrule 60 having internal threads 62 engaging a threaded shank 64 fixed to a guard 66. Thus, rotation of the ferrule 60 causes axial movement of the shank 64 and thereby like movement of the guard 66. Downward movement of the guard 66 increases the exposure of the blade 36 disposed in the razor head. Upward movement of the guard 66 results in the platform being closer to the blade 36 thereby reducing the exposure of the blade. The upper part of the guard is disposed on top of the spring 20 so that the spring exercises a biasing pressure upon the guard to take up manufactured plays in the adjustment mechanism. Thus, by providing a spring bias under the guard the plays in the threads of the ad- 'justment ferrule 60, the guard shank 64, the surfaces that engage the ferrule, and the frame surfaces that support the ferrule are substantially eliminated,

t is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited to the particular construction herein disclosed and/or shown in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within the scope of the disclosure.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Razor head comprising a frame having a cavity therein, a cap portion pivotally mounted on said frame, catch means fixed to said cap portion and extending therefrom, hook means mounted for pivotal and linear movement in said cavity, spring means disposed in said cavity to influence linear movement of said hook means, actuator means extending from said cavity and engaged with said hook means and operable to cause rotative and linear movement of said hook means, a blade guard, and movable means disposed in said cavity and connected to said blade guard for varying the exposure of a razor blade retained by said razor head relative to said guard.

2. Razor head comprising a frame having a cavity therein, a cap portion pivotally mounted on said frame, catch means fixed to said cap portion and extending therefrom, hook means including pin means extending from either side thereof, ends of said pin means being disposed in opposed parallel grooves in said razor head, spring means disposed in said cavity and abutting said pin means to bias said hook means, actuator means operable to move said hook means against said spring bias, av blade guard connected to a spindle, and means for moving said spindle whereby to move said guard and thereby determine the exposure of a razor blade retained by said razor head.

3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said spindle is threaded and said means for moving the spindle comprises rotatable nut means threadedly engaged with said spindle.

4. The invention according to claim 2 in which said guard is biased by said spring means. 

1. Razor head comprising a frame having a cavity therein, a cap portion pivotally mounted on said frame, catch means fixed to said cap portion and extending therefrom, hook means mounted for pivotal and linear movement in said cavity, spring means disposed in said cavity to influence linear movement of said hook means, actuator means extending from said cavity and engaged with said hook means and operable to cause rotative and linear movement of said hook means, a blade guard, and movable means disposed in said cavity and connected to said blade guard for varying the exposure of a razor blade retained by said razor head relative to said guard.
 2. Razor head comprising a frame having a cavity therein, a cap portion pivotally mounted on said frame, catch means fixed to said cap portion and extending therefrom, hook means including pin means extending from either side thereof, ends of said pin means being disposed in opposed parallel grooves in said razor head, spring means disposed in said cavity and abutting said pin means to bias said hook means, actuator means operable to move said hook means against said spring bias, a blade guard connected to a spindle, and means for moving said spindle whereby to move said guard and thereby determine the exposure of a razor blade retained by said razor head.
 3. The invention according to claim 2 in which said spindle is threaded and said means for moving the spindle comprises rotatable nut means threadedly engaged with said spindle.
 4. The invention according to claim 2 in which said guard is biased by said spring means. 